Saturday, March 10, 2018

Days 1B and 1C of the WPTDeepStacks Brussels €1,200 Main Event were played at the host venue Grand Casino Brussels Viage in the heart of the Belgian capital on Friday. By the end of the two starting flights, the tournament’s field counted 315 people.

However, only 99 of them, including survivors from Thursday’s Day 1A, will progress into Day 2, which is set to be played today at the host casino.

A total of 158 entries joined the event’s field on Day 1B. It was actually the largest starting flight. There were just 49 players left at the end of the last level scheduled for the day. Roland Rozel ended that stage of WPTDeepStacks Brussels action as the chip leader with a total of 196,200 in chips.

Gary Hasson, Olivier Lattrez, and Ondrej Drozd were also among the players to bag and tag big last night. A notable who made it into Day 2 through his entry into Day 1B was Brazilian poker pro Alexandre Gomes. The player is a former WPT Main Tour Main Event champion, the only one who will join the ranks of players on Day 2. Back in 2009, Gomes topped the field of the Bellagio Cup V for $1,187,670 in prize money and his first WPT title. The player bagged and tagged 148,300 last night.

Leonardo Armino, who finished runner-up in last year’s WPTDeepStacks Brussels Main Event, also advanced from Day 1B. The player told WPT staff that he did not have a tough table, which helped him “cruise along” play. Armino is entering Day 2 with 98,900 in chips.

Day 1C Action

Players were given one more chance to secure a spot into Day 2 with the Day 1C Fast Chance flight. Starting from 10 pm local time last night, the flight saw 52 entries, of whom only 20 made it through the end.

Local player Pierre Neuville, who finished 7th in the 2015 WSOP Main Event, was among the Day 1C entries. However, the player did not survive through all 13 20-minute levels to advance into Day 2.

Defending champion Laurent Polito, who won the WPTDeepStacks Brussels last November and is eying a back-to-back title, is set to return today after making it through Day 1C. Polito took home €90,000 for his triumph last year. It is yet to be seen how much the winner will scoop from the ongoing Main Event, as organizers are set to announce the prize pool and the places paid later today.

The 99 survivors from the three starting flights will be led by Italy’s Gianluca Bucchino who accumulated a massive stack on Thursday. The player enters Day 2 with 360,000 in chips and is well ahead from any of his remaining opponents. Patrick Prijot with 200,000 and Vincent Gabel with 196,400 are the other two players to round out the podium.